We have all heard the phrase “patience is a virtue”, usually said in casual, witty circumstances, but have we ever stopped to think about what that really means and what knowledge this simple statement may hold? I have mentioned from time to time one of my favorite quotes, “there is no liberty without virtue”, and if patience is a virtue then we need to recognize that we cannot have liberty if we have no patience. This virtue is one of the many that have been lost in the past few years and people seem to continue to lose more patience with different parts of their lives every single day. Personally, it is growing more difficult to be patient with others and even just with what I’m trying to focus on at the time. Today, it is becoming more common to be less patient because people have stopped fighting it. People are losing patience with close family members and friends, with work, and more importantly, with learning. Knowledge does not come easy, and definitely not quickly; we must be patient as we work toward obtaining a greater desire to learn and the knowledge that comes from that desire. The knowledge that is truly valuable cannot be taught from a textbook, it comes from continually searching and studying the words of the men I mention almost every week. Benjamin Franklin taught, “He that can have patience can have what he will.” Liberty is not something that can be obtained within a week, or a year, we need to be constantly striving for it in order to obtain it. If we can teach ourselves to have the patience everyone had 250 years ago, we can and will restore the liberty they fought for all those years ago. Every day people miss opportunities because they are so used to not needing to have patience. Please, don’t lose patience with the things that are most important in your life, because then, you will lose those things that are most important in your life. Trust that if you continue to fight for what is good and virtuous, it will come eventually. If it is virtuous, it will come!

Yours truly,

Publius